Release Date: 29 March 2018
What's It About: Many major world cities have become unsustainably large due to overpopulation, pollution and climate change. Many people have turned to a virtual reality named OASIS where they can find work and an escape from the dystopian reality.
The Good: As soon as I started watching, I recognized everything as very Spielbergian. The narrative is structurally sound and the world is rather well-built and designed, and I could definitely recognize the cinematography and camerawork that Spielberg employs in his films. Everything also flows in the ways you might expect, with sufficient twists and turns to catch viewers off guard. I was pleasantly impressed by the sheer number of cultural references included in the film, and one involving Stanley Kubricks' The Shining was particularly extensive.
The Bad: Unfortunately, for a film that has staked itself on its references as one of its major selling points, they aren't all that present in the final film. The crossovers are little more than visual fanservice and don't do anything to warrant their presence other than to be recognized. Furthermore, none of them ever seemed to be in character and honestly most of the time I didn't feel connected to any of them since they had all been thrown into a mosh pit with one another and left to run around all dazed and confused. There's a lack of character development which is a bit unusual for Spielberg, as subtlety is one of his strong points, but I found myself feeling less about Wade and Art3mis than I did about the real estate problem in Ohio.
Best Performance: If I could collectively give it to 'cultural references', I would, because they seemed to be a character unto itself, but even then they weren't very good, so I have to give it to Olivia Cooke as Samantha Cook/Art3mis, a veteran OASIS player who befriends Wade Watts. At least she has a back story and motivation to play the game and move forward, and at least we're given some reasoning for that. It isn't anything special, but it does exist.
Should I Watch It: If you didn't already know, it's adapted from a novel, and yes the novel is better. It fills plotholes the film did not and takes its time to invest in the characters more. In film form, the plot feels like an engine to allow as many cultural references to have screentime as possible and the characters are just secondary to that. I was skeptical before I walked into the theater and throughout the trailers and my suspicions were thus confirmed. Even the 2000s "(insert genre) Movie" films did a better job of using references to boost the impact of the film.
Post-Credits Scene: No
Similar Films: Any of the films referenced in the film, Ender's Game (2013), Tron: Legacy (2010)
Trailer:
